Secrets
by Feeny
Summary: Six shot. One chapter per party member. Everybody has their Secrets. Basch/Ashe, Vaan/Penelo, Balthier/Fran


Hokai! Secret chapter one!

This was all kicked of by one line in Miss Famke's "Word's Unspoken" story. Originally it was just going to be a oneshot but one day this idea hit and I though it was good! So yah, that's it.

And thank me Beta -Hito! (Yes well aware of the bad grammar)

* * *

Basch cursed as one of the many Wus landed another blow, knocking him to the ground.

He was bleeding badly, and there were many bruises covering his body. He looked around at his comrades. The rest were suffering just as much from the Wu's rage.

The youngest in the group, Penelo, conjured up healing spell after healing spell and her energy was quickly draining. Basch gave her a grunt in thanks, as he felt the worst of his injuries heal. He lifted his spear, swinging it expertly at one of the fiends.

"We can't take them! We must retreat!" Fran's exotic voice sounded out, as she brought an axe upon one of the Wus' heads, felling it with ease.

Basch nodded sharply, and looked over at Ashe. Her back was pressed up against the rocky edge of a cliff while slashing -and succeeding in mortally wounding two of the Wus with her sword.

"Majesty, we must go!" He called, catching her attention. When she turned round her eyes widened and her mouth opened to respond to him.

But…he never heard what she said, as a splitting pain spread over his left side and he was flung into the hard ground. He turned his head fully and stared at the Wu that was bearing down on him, and his arm was bleeding quite badly. He never saw it coming.

He was growing dizzy from the lack of blood, cursing his carelessness. He thought he heard his name called in a fearful voice, and with his quickly fading vision, saw Ashe's form run toward the Wu. She rammed her sword into its abdomen. That was the last thing he saw before everything went black.

* * *

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he could tell he was laying on something soft. His mind was clouded by confusion, making it quite difficult to remember who he was, and where he was.

"Will he be alright?" He could barely make out the muffled young voice. After a moment, he recognized it as Vaan's.

"He should, but he'll need quite a bit more rest." A much older and wiser voice responded; Fran. "We all do."

"I wouldn't want to pass up that opportunity." That was unmistakably Balthier, a man with a voice like his was hard to forget. "How's your girl doing? Seemed pretty worn out, what with all the healing spells she was throwing our way! Surprised she didn't pass out actually."

There was silence, and then soft footsteps that grew fainter in leaving. Basch groaned loudly then, the pain from his injuries hitting him in full.

He could hear the creak of a door, and light flooded in, stinging his eyes.

"Ah, he's awake, going to check on him, prin--" Balthier was unable to finish the remark as Ashe entered the room, and rushed to Basch's bedside.

Basch closed his right eye and groaned again.

"Basch?" Her voice was surprisingly gentle, and it sounded so nice to him.

He managed to turn to her and answer politely. "Yes, majesty?"

She sighed in relief, "You had us all worried, for a while," She stood, and walked over to the shelf built into the rounded wall. She looked over the shelf carefully and picked up a potion and (thankfully) a clean rag before returning to Basch's bedside. "That Wu injured you greatly."

She poured some of the potion onto the rag, "Can you sit?"

"I shall try," Basch used his elbows to prop himself up. The pain in his left was almost unbearable, but he managed to raise himself to a sitting position. The pain must have shown on his face as Ashe's eyebrows knitted together in concern. Then, almost instantly, her expression hardened.

"Don't strain yourself like that!" She ordered sharply as she sat turned her attention to his wounded arm. Her beautiful, warm grey eyes were full of worry.

Basch then mentally kicked himself when he realized he was thinking her as beautiful, especially at such a time, but no matter how much he tried to deny it, he had fallen -and deeply at that- for the future Queen long ago.

"I am sorry, majesty," He said.

Ashe let out a small sigh, and gently wiped the potion drenched rag down his arm. It stung, and it added to the pain already present. He held back another grunt as she cleaned out his wound.

Basch was surprised to find how deep it was. There was a dark red gash that ran continuously from his elbow to wrist.

"Majesty…" He couldn't help but wonder. If the thing managed to put this deep of a wound in his arm he couldn't imagine how the rest managed to escape. "How did you escape from the Wu's?"

Ashe smiled ever so faintly. "We were hardly able to. It was pure luck." Ashe took a breath, ready to tell the story.

"We all started panicking when you where down, it was a dreadful sight, the blood was flowing so freely-" Her eyes darkened at the memory, but she shook her head and continued.

_Ashe felt sick, there was so much blood…knight was bleeding! She didn't have time to think of the boundaries between them and how wrong what she felt for him was. All that she knew at that moment was the man she loved was bleeding to death, and she was frightened. She charged at the offending Wu, and killed it. Mercilessly. She would feel sickened with such brutal action on her part later on, but right now, they had to get out of there. She spun round, to face the unconscious Basch, and noticed a white spark dancing around his arm. Almost instantly, the bleeding slowed. A soft groan and a thump followed. _

"_Penelo!" Vaan screamed. The girl must have reached her limit and had worn herself out. _

_Vaan would take care of her. Ashe had to concentrate on getting Basch out of here. Fran's form entered her vision, and the ringing _Bang _from Balthier gun sharply spit the air. _

"_I shall take his left arm! You take his right!" Fran said. She leaned down and gently picked up Basch's left arm. Ashe did as she was told, and the two struggled under his weigh. It took a moment for them to adjust, but soon thery were moving._

_Balthier was the only one keeping the Wu's at bay as Vaan was tending to Penelo. He couldn't continue for long. _

"_Help would be nice!" The gunman spat. _

"_V-Vaan, put me down, I can walk..." Penelo pushed herself away from Vaan and stumbled forward, casting a worried glance Basch's way. _

_Vaan hesitantly turned around and drew his katana, swiping at the fiends, it slowed them, but he couldn't inflict a sizeable wound._

"_We're almost out of their territory!" Fran stated. Basch's wounded arm was around her shoulders. The had finally stopped, and relief flooded through Ashe._

_The battle raged on behind them_

"_Vaan! Don't you dare!" Balthier's voice snapped.._

_It was too late for the warning, as the mist around him started to thicken._

_Several screeches rang in Ashe's ears, and she could hear several loud thumps in the dirt. Vaan's reckless action had at least worked, even if a little. _

_Balthier groaned, "If we ever get out of this I will beat you to a bloody pulp!" His voice was strained._

_Ashe turned her head slightly and saw that Balthier was carrying an indignant looking Vaan. The Wu's where still many, but these where at least a little further away. They could out run them. A second wave of relief flooded through her, but dropping her guard would only tempt fate. She moved her feet faster, almost running._

"_We've escaped," Fran stated, a few minutes later. _

_Vaan shouted in surprise as Balthier let go of him and let him fall to the ground, "We should stop at Jahara. I should think the locals would be most happy to lend us a hut again," he said._

_Ashe nodded. It was better than staying out on the plains._

_When they reached Jahara, she could think more clearly._

_Why hadn't Basch seen the Wu lunge at him? And…when had she fallen so madly in love with him?_

"Majesty?"

Basch's voice brought Ashe back from.

She shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, my mind wandered."

Basch nodded slowly. "You stopped after saying Vaan has assured your escape using an Aero spell,"

Ashe wasn't even aware she had been talking. A wave of panic struck the princess. Had she accidentally revealed her feelings for him as she relived the battle with the Wus?

…No. Surely not.

He wouldn't be sitting as comfortably -as comfortable as one could be while sitting with a gaping wound along the arm-- if she had. She released a relieved breath and continued.

"We walked back with out incident, and we managed to get two huts from the Garif. It was all they could spare us," Ashe explained.

She applied more of the potion to the rag and continued to treat Basch's arm.

"We allowed Vaan and Penelo to rest in the other hut. They only needed sleep… and seeing you in…in _that_ state…" Ashe's jaw tightened, "It would only cause them unrest."

Basch turned to her. "I am sorry to cause such trouble," It was faint, but there was a chuckle in his words. Ash thought it to be a beautiful sound.

"Do not be silly," Her tone was amused but the words where still serious. "You've saved us in many battles. It is impossible to think one can maintain at such a pace all the time."

Basch felt uncomfortable. She was being so open, _so warm_. It felt wrong and right at the same time.

All he did was nod and avert his gaze to the wall in front of him.

Ashe couldn't help but wonder if she was being a little too forward. She tilted her head a little to read his expression, but instead focused on a nasty looking cut on his cheek.

Sighing softly, she lifted the cloth to his cheek slowly. She wanted to make sure he was aware of what she was doing. She didn't want to hurt him, and it would quite possibly, only further the awkwardness that had so suddenly grown between them.

It seemed she failed in her efforts to alert him.

As soon as the cloth made contact with his face, he flinched. His head snapped around, and his eyes were wide.

Ashe nearly scoffed. Surely he could have seen her! At least out of the corner of his eye!

"Majesty?!"

Ashe eye's narrowed, "There is a gash on your face! You must of seen m-" Ashe stopped.

She went cold.

The fact that Wu had manage to land such a injury on him when it attacked him on his left side… that he didn't see her move he cloth up to his face and…

She quickly seized his jaw, and scanned his left eye!

The scar, which until this point she thought had only passed very close to his eye, was actually going though it.

Ashe released a shaky breath. "You're blind…in you left eye,"

It wasn't a question. It was realization.

There was a horrible moment of silence.

"Aye," Basch nodded slowly, and removed her hand from his face.

"B-Basch," Ashe rested a hand on his shoulder, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Basch dropped his head, his answer was delayed, "I know not, it was…stupid of me not to tell you of such a weakness, I know…"

He trailed off, what could he say? He endangered everybody, if he had told them about it, he wouldn't have been struck down by that Wu. "I am sorry," He said finally.

Ashe was too shocked to speak. She couldn't even answer his apology. She couldn't move.

Basch misread Ashe's shock as outrage.

He got up slowly. "I can move now, I thank you," He bowed slightly.

Ashe weakly called out to him, but Basch didn't hear it as he walked out of the hut.

Ashe misread Basch's shame as anger for delving into such a personal subject, and she was left alone in the hut to curse and berate at herself.

* * *

WAIT! Before you try to stab me...Ashe still has a secret to go, I WILL fix that!

But hey, I can write angst...I think.

sighs And thus I am immune from getting a pant tassel!

Anyway, I tried looking for the line in Famke's story, but it's gone! It's was basically a remark that he was luck he wasn't blinded! Anyway...Review...please!


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